BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns officially have a new offensive coordinator as well as three other new assistant coaches.
In addition to officially announcing Ken Dorsey as their new offensive coordinator, the Browns also named Tommy Rees as the tight ends coach and pass game specialist, Duce Staley to coach running backs and new defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire Monday morning.
Here's our top Brownie Bites from Dorsey's introduction as offensive coordinator Monday.
Mum's the word – Dorsey said a lot without saying much as he spoke for over 20 minutes. There was very little insight offered by Dorsey as far as how the offense will look, types of schemes that will be employed or how he plans to transform Deshaun Watson back into the player that led the NFL in passing during the 2020 season with the Texans.
Unsolved mystery – To the surprise of no one, we left Monday's presser with no idea who will call plays this fall. "I know everybody wants to talk about, we'll get there," Stefanski said. "It's February 5th. What's most important, what I'm looking forward to the most is putting this offense back together with Ken really leading the charge and that's why he's here." It is inconceivable that Dorsey would take the job without an understanding of the specifics of his role, including calling plays. That said, Dorsey followed Stefanski's lead and did not tip their hand as to their plans. "Play calling to me is not as important as winning football games," Dorsey said. "To me, it's more about, alright, what's the decision that we feel most comfortable about moving forward to help our team win? And I've been in my career more interested about, okay, what can I do to help this team win more so than anything else? And that's the only thing that matters to me. So whether Kevin's calling it, I'm calling it, that's to me the most important thing is us as a team."
He's back – Dorsey is the 19th offensive coordinator for the Browns since 1999. Dorsey was also QB 11 on the famed list of expansion era quarterbacks out of the 36 starters. "Ken has worked with and elevated some of the top quarterbacks in this league and will bring a fresh approach to our offense," Stefanski said in a statement from the team announcing the hire. "He knows what it takes to be successful at that position as he was one of the most successful college quarterbacks of all time and that has helped him become a tremendous coach. He has a history with this team and knows what the Browns mean to this city. We are very excited to bring in Ken as offensive coordinator." Dorsey, who started three games during the 2008 season and spent three years with the Browns, most recently worked with Josh Allen in Buffalo before the Bills fired him in the middle of the season. He's back in Cleveland again, tasked with getting Watson on track. "I think the only thing that's same is the staircase in the front and the door I walk through," Dorsey said of his thoughts returning to 76 Lou Groza Blvd. "Other than that, the place is completely different in a great way. And just walking in here, it's like the vibe is just so much different than when I was here as a player, and that's the fun part about it for me." Dorsey served as Cam Newton's quarterbacks coach during Newton's MVP season that saw the Panthers make it to Super Bowl 50. Dorsey replaced Alen Van Pelt, let go after Cleveland's Wild Card exit and hired by the New England Patriots in the same role last week.
Evolve, or die – One of the driving forces behind the coordinator switch this offseason is to breathe fresh ideas into the offense. What that specifically looks like remains to be seen. "There's always that evolution that you look to try to stay ahead of the curve," Dorsey said. "So that's going to happen. But I think that's the exciting part to come in now is to be a part of that and blend these kind of two different philosophies and incorporate different things that maybe we did in Buffalo or Carolina or whatnot. And then obviously, we've got some other coaches who are coming in who are going to be able to add from their experiences as well. And that's the exciting part. I mean, that's what makes ball fun, is to come in and really kind of roll up your sleeves and say, okay, where do we want to go? Are we going to be an 11 team, a 12 team, a 21 team? You don't know that. You can't say that right now because we don't have the roster. And that's the fun part about NFL, is you got time to figure that out. And there's going to be a process that we go through to do so." Watson's skillset plays heavily into the evaluation process and what changes they will make for 2024, including where Watson lines up and how often. "I think that's part of the offseason is to really sit down and evaluate what we feel like is the best direction moving forward, whether it's drop back, play action, whatever it is, to really help us take the next steps, because that's what it's all about," Dorsey said. "What can we do for us as an offense to take the next steps to help us get where we want to go and get some home playoff games late in the year? I mean, that's what it's all about for us. So the drop back could be part of that, but the whole offense is on the table. Like Kevin referred to, we're going to look at this thing from the ground up, from cadences to formations to how we're calling things, our terminology, we're going to go through and make sure all that stuff is in the best interest of us as an offense for every single guy that steps foot on the field for us."
Thanks for the memories – Stefanski praised outgoing members of his coaching staff – Van Pelt, T.C. McCartney, Stump Mitchell and Bill Callahan. "I'm really proud of the things that we've accomplished the last four years," Stefanski said. Van Pelt was fired as was Mitchell while McCartney did not have his contract renewed. The Browns allowed Callahan out of his contract to join his son, new Titans head coach Brian Callahan, in Tennessee. "Very unique situation there to go work for Brian, not with Brian. He's going to work for Brian," Stefanski said. "I can't wait for Brian to boss him around. The dream of every kid is to boss their parents around… I think organizationally we realized that's a unique situation and did not want to stand in the way of that."
Quote of the day – "The thing I respect about this organization and Kevin the most is how thorough they are in making these decisions. It was darn near like a root canal to get this job, I mean you go through a lot of testing and I met more people in this building than I have in any building I've ever been in. Just in the interview process, which is awesome as somebody coming in, that's what you want."
